took my herringbone suit that i bought off there forums to looksmart alterations in enex100. i needed the trousers taken up and the sleeves taken up. i was a little worried as to who would be able to do the sleeve work (due to the working button holes), but someone here had some shoulder work done by looksmart and it seemed it worked out well, and herringbone in perth said they used looksmart alterations as well.

dropped it off on wednesday lunch time, and was told it would be ready friday lunch. got a call on friday at lunch saying that it wouldnt be ready till the afternoon. fair enough. rocked up after work in the afternoon and he was still working on it (thanks for the call...). the lovely girl offered to drop it off after work the next day.

anyways got suit back and the work seems alright, chris (the main tailor there) had to take some length off at the top of the sleeve, and a little bit on the cuff. good enough. no epic stuff ups. there were a few loose threads etc. cost me $230 to get the sleeves taken up and to have the pants done.

$230 on alterations?!?! Holy $#!% I got quoted $50 just to have pants un-tapered by Looksmart, and another $30 to have the seat let out a little. Just near enex100, inside Plaza arcade there's a guy called '7 Star Clothing Alterations' (the green shop near EasyWay Bubble Tea- used them once in a hurry to take in a jacket and fix the rippling at the neck - did it in 45 minutes and cost me $30. Looksmart wanted $40 per seam touched (so would've totaled about $160). Only thing is - their fitting rooms aren't exactly spacious, and you don't have as much privacy as you would in a full on store - but you're not paying full on store prices. My two cents. Looksmart's good - but its not $160 good. the

Yeah, its been said before and its probably worth saying again. Looksmart are not the best option. They are mainstream, charge excesive prices and are known for sloppy work. I used a place in Claremont called 'Darn-It' for most of my work. Its close and reasonably priced and best of all they do a good job.

took my herringbone suit that i bought off there forums to looksmart alterations in enex100. i needed the trousers taken up and the sleeves taken up. i was a little worried as to who would be able to do the sleeve work (due to the working button holes), but someone here had some shoulder work done by looksmart and it seemed it worked out well, and herringbone in perth said they used looksmart alterations as well.

...

anyways got suit back and the work seems alright, chris (the main tailor there) had to take some length off at the top of the sleeve, and a little bit on the cuff. good enough. no epic stuff ups. there were a few loose threads etc. cost me $230 to get the sleeves taken up and to have the pants done.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrbig

$230 on alterations?!?! Holy $#!%

Sadly, when you've got to shorten sleeves from the sleevehead, things get expensive very quickly. $230 for that work is a bit expensive, but only by $20 or $30 in my experience as shortening the sleeve at the shoulder usually costs $180 or thereabouts (in Brisbane, at least).

I used to use Looksmart in the Dymocks Bldg in Syd, but after a few jobs I could see the standard of work slipping and the prices were rising. Also customer service went from good to 'what, you again?' I now use another mob that only charge $20 for trouser hems.

Does anyone here know the website that lets you make online purchases by proxy from e-tailers who will not ship to Australia? (Typically from US and UK). I think it is a paypal company.

I think you're talking about hopshopgo.com which is PayPal related company.

Not sure about UK, they can buy and ship or just ship for you from US. They offer pretty cheap DHL 3-day delivery to Australia and if you want them buy for you they charge +10% of list price, all via PayPal of course.

Sadly, when you've got to shorten sleeves from the sleevehead, things get expensive very quickly. $230 for that work is a bit expensive, but only by $20 or $30 in my experience as shortening the sleeve at the shoulder usually costs $180 or thereabouts (in Brisbane, at least).

yeh unfortunately i was in a hurry and i just needed it done by someone who was capable. and i knew it would definitely be more expensive than taking them in at the cuff, just not sure by how much.

yeh unfortunately i was in a hurry and i just needed it done by someone who was capable. and i knew it would definitely be more expensive than taking them in at the cuff, just not sure by how much.

A heck of a lot! Taking sleeves up at the cuff is usually a $30 alteration.
Taking them up at the sleevehead is usually $180 or thereabouts.

I love Herringbone suits but I really, really, really wish that they would not put working buttonholes on their suits. My tailor will make working buttonholes (machine-stitched, not hand-stitched) for $60, for a total cost (shortening + buttonholes) of $90. If he has to take up the sleeve from the shoulder, however, it costs twice as much. Sigh...

Real estate agents are likely to have a standard uniform. Those that don't usually have a dress code and will have a discount deal with some clothes mob.

An 18 year old should not spend too much on business wear. For a start they will probably still be growing or changing body shape in addition they will have unformed taste and thoughts about style.

Best just go with the flow of whatever the company suggests and be prepared to wear a huge double windsor bright gold or red tie.

Thanks for the replies guys and the pics as well. You have all pretty much confirmed my initial thoughts on what he should be going for, however I didn't realise that some real estate companies had deals with clothing stores so if his office does have this sort of thing organised it might make things a whole lot easier.

As you said fxh, he shouldn't spend much on clothing at this stage as he is super skinny (just like I used to be...sigh) so he should fill out a whole lot more. With this in mind I was hoping that I might be able to get some tips to point him toward reasonable clothing at reasonable prices that he could purchase reasonably quickly and I think your point about the discount deals some places have has answered that question. However I will point him to various places online as well. I won't recommend Herringbone or similar until he has filled out as it may be a waste of money at this stage.

LPPS - I get asked a lot to help dress young relatives and friends kids - the hardest part of having to help 18 - 20 year olds get a wardrobe or "quick suit" is dealing with the whole waist issue.

Most young guys wear their pants way down too low and are used to having a hanging crutch.

Even if they are interested in a suit this is a stumbling point. If you insist on getting the pants fitted for them around waist height - I don't mean high rise like us old guys but a bit above hips - then the minute they dress by themselves they will push the pants down on their hips and have a crutch like a babies poo nappy and pooled cuffs on the shoe.

I usually compromise by getting them fitted highish on the hips and leaving a bit of material on the end of the pants for future alterations - up or down.

Mostly I don't have much problem with the jacket fitting - they either initially get them too big or too small but mostly have no real objection to getting it right.

The saving grace is that almost anything looks pretty good on a young skinny tall guy.

Shoes are a nightmare and I have no advice. last two guys I just helped took size 11 -12 shoes!!!! - lucky to get even sneakers.

I'll usually walk into somewhere like Peter Jackson or Oxford on sale - not an old mans shop, and say to sales rep - we are here to buy two suits, but we want a 10% discount or alterations thrown in and two ties which I will choose. Usually a plain as possible black or dark blue tie and a wine coloured tie. No pastels as you can be sure the young blokes GF or parents will get him a gaudy tasteless one or two at some point.

Its easier for sales people to chuck in an extra article from the store than it is to give a discount. Remember a $60 discount is $60 less cash they get but a $60 tie only costs them around $20.

Make sure you get adjustments done before he gets to wear it - length of pants and sleeves is the basics might need letting in or out around waist.

Get a blue suit (or even black if they insist) and a lighter grey suit for a young bloke not a charcoal.

Take them to Myers or DJs and get 3 plain blue shirts and 3 plain white shirts - on sale - not R&B or others - look at van Heusen - otherwise they will buy crazy coloured striped shirts that wont go with anything. Don't worry about 100% cotton etc - they wont know or care. Again them their GF or parents will buy them a crazy coloured shirt or two at some point.

Don't get them to buy online - Its a hard game for experienced players.

Socks - get them a few pairs of plain grey and plain blue longish socks first up - otherwise they will end up wearing Target sports socks.

Oh and a half decent belt - they will only have a jeans belt of a casual thing. Its worth it if you can get a reversible brown/black belt.

FXH, Sad, but oh so very true. The number of men I have seen trying on appalling stuff at the Herringbone warehouse sales is staggering - and most of the time they leave the actual selection of stuff to their girlfriends, and it is the GF who is choosing the outlandishly striped shirts and the striped ties to go with the shirts! Sigh...

I used to use Looksmart in the Dymocks Bldg in Syd, but after a few jobs I could see the standard of work slipping and the prices were rising. Also customer service went from good to 'what, you again?'

I now use another mob that only charge $20 for trouser hems.

Wow. $20! Do tell... Sounds like a good deal.

Still use Looksmart in Dymocks, but only because I've got an okay client-tailor relationship with the guys, having purchased a few Herringbone suits and sent them there to be altered.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Journeyman

A heck of a lot! Taking sleeves up at the cuff is usually a $30 alteration.
Taking them up at the sleevehead is usually $180 or thereabouts.

I love Herringbone suits but I really, really, really wish that they would not put working buttonholes on their suits. My tailor will make working buttonholes (machine-stitched, not hand-stitched) for $60, for a total cost (shortening + buttonholes) of $90. If he has to take up the sleeve from the shoulder, however, it costs twice as much. Sigh...

$180?!

I've only ever paid $80 max for taking up at the shoulder and hemming the pants at LS in Dymocks bldg, Sydney.

Then again, maybe I better re-examine the quality of the work done.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lychee

took my herringbone suit that i bought off there forums to looksmart alterations in enex100. i needed the trousers taken up and the sleeves taken up. i was a little worried as to who would be able to do the sleeve work (due to the working button holes), but someone here had some shoulder work done by looksmart and it seemed it worked out well, and herringbone in perth said they used looksmart alterations as well.

dropped it off on wednesday lunch time, and was told it would be ready friday lunch. got a call on friday at lunch saying that it wouldnt be ready till the afternoon. fair enough. rocked up after work in the afternoon and he was still working on it (thanks for the call...). the lovely girl offered to drop it off after work the next day.

anyways got suit back and the work seems alright, chris (the main tailor there) had to take some length off at the top of the sleeve, and a little bit on the cuff. good enough. no epic stuff ups. there were a few loose threads etc. cost me $230 to get the sleeves taken up and to have the pants done.

Cripes!!!

That's really, really expensive for shortening at the shoulder and hemming the pants!!!